Any time we get to add a new translation from Andrea Falk, we celebrate. Her work is always thoughtful and firmly based, and one never gets the feeling that the translation is machine-generated (because it isn’t)! Now, about the book, The Tiger Crane Form: Chinese -English Edition of Lin Shirong’s book, revised by Zhu Yuqi. […]
Aug
23
2026
23
2026
Mar
25
2025
25
2025
A Dialogue Between Eastern and Western Martial Arts Literature
Here is something quite special. Lionbooks has just published an exceptionally beautiful and important work, The New Silk Road of Martial Studies, presenting a unique exhibition of historical martial material, both East and West. The book is sectioned chronologically, so the development of martial literature and theory can be seen side by side. Created by […]
Feb
22
2024
22
2024
Grand Master Johnny Lee and My Jhong Law Horn (Mizong Lohan)
Sifu Doug Opbroek, author of the recent book, “Footsteps of the Masters: Following in the Path of My Jhong Law Horn,” sent us this nice article about his teacher, GM Johnny Lee, just published in a local Shreveport, LA newsmagazine. Sifu Opbroek’s book records the cultural context, folklore and oral tradition of the kung fu […]
Feb
12
2024
12
2024
Sun Xikun’s Authentic Transmission of Baguazhang
Well, well, well. Here we were just praising Chen Faxing’s translation into English of The Subtlety of Xingyi Boxing, when he delivers to us another important translation. Sun Xikun’s Authentic Transmission of Baguazhang, now translated into English, is another significant volume in the martial canon. His detailed insights into Baguazhang, along with Xingyiquan and Taijiquan […]
Dec
21
2023
21
2023
My Jhong Law Horn: Douglas Opbroek’s New Book on a Different Branch of Mizong
A little while back, we received a new book to review, accompanied by a nice note from Sifu Douglas Opbroek, which read in part: “…As I have scrolled through your site and others over the years, I have yet to find a book or video on the combined system of the Yip family of Mizong […]
Jul
13
2022
13
2022
Taijiquan, Martial Power and Andrew Townsend’s Fine Books
Some business problems are ones you want to have: too much good stuff coming in at one time; too many customers ordering; too much media attention. The six new books we have just added from Andrew Townsend present a different (good) problem: although he is essentially teaching and writing about Taijiquan, these volumes cross categories, […]
Feb
6
2022
6
2022
No One Is Perfect: Books That Go Bump In the Shipping
Honestly, considering the amount of shipping we do, both sending and receiving, it is remarkable how few bumped corners we have to report. But things DO go wrong, every once in a while. Take, for instance, a recent order from Taiwan. A few lovelies received minor bruises, hardly anything to rise up over but still, […]
Dec
1
2020
1
2020
Let The Sales Begin!
Hey, we’ve made it to December! Yes, this has been a tough year, but 2021 is almost here, so let’s celebrate with some discounts. Use coupon code December10 to get a 10% discount on any orders through December 7, and we’ll email you another 10% coupon that you can use in January. Out with the […]
May
29
2020
29
2020
Restocks!
Happy to report the return of three unlikely roommates today. Click each image for more information and to purchase.
Nov
21
2019
21
2019
Plum Fruits on Facebook
Plum may cast a big shadow in the number of products we represent (almost 4000), the articles and tutorials we write (about 1500, and counting), the videos we produce and share here and on our youtube channel …But as many of you know, there are only really three people operating the lights: Ted Mancuso, Linda […]
Oct
6
2019
6
2019
The Eye of Robert Smith
Here is a short and direct excerpt from one of the forefathers of western martial arts writings. Robert Smith was as much a story-teller as he was a reporter, bringing forth tales from the fringes of some styles, along with the hidden clashes between the masters of others. “Simply observing the art without participating […]
Aug
9
2019
9
2019
More, and Then Some
Continuing our summer of great titles, here are three new classics, the last, Shaolin Luo Han, being dual language (Chinese and English) and accompanied by a dual language VCD. These “en face” (two languages, face-to-face ) titles are scattered all over our site, giving practitioners additional opportunities to pick up a few Chinese terms by […]
Jun
5
2019
5
2019
Mar
16
2019
16
2019
New Arrivals: Tai Chi Staff, Shaolin Fists
Trying to keep up with the tower of material stacked high here at Plum, waiting to be catalogued and made available to you! Today’s newest additions start off with the Yang Tai Chi 68 Staff DVD (2 parts) demonstrated by the popular Jiang Jiang Ye. This 68 move form is one of the longest sets […]
May
29
2018
29
2018
Jeet Kune Do & Wing Chun: Inexpensive Intro to Bruce Lee’s art
We’ve just added to our hurt books division one of the best explanations of Jeet Kune Do, its working and goals, that we’ve ever seen–Basics of Jeet Kune Do. This is one of the special series on Basics (we also have one by Sifu Paul Eng of Praying Mantis style) relying more on detailed explanations […]
May
26
2018
26
2018
Feb
22
2018
22
2018
Some Long-Awaited Restocks
It’s been a few months since we have been fully stocked on our “En Face Books” (the books in this series have English text ‘facing’ Chinese text). They are among our customer favorites, because they have so much to offer: A book and accompanying VCD showing complete routines in both Chinese and English. What more […]
Dec
22
2017
22
2017
Come To The Party
Right before the end of the year, we welcome back a few old friends, Chinese Kung Fu books that are always welcome at Plum. We’ve got a lot of new material coming, too, in the next little while, so keep an eye on this spot. (Click each book to get more info, and to purchase). […]
Dec
16
2016
16
2016
A Wire of Iron
What a year the monkey has been! Now, we have so much good stuff coming in we can act like the Rooster Year is already here, and can start to crow a bit. In the next couple of months, we’re looking forward to adding more and more top quality books and DVDs, often in English. […]
Dec
3
2016
3
2016
International Shipping Rates Drop
We’ve spent 20 years building a catalogue of hand-picked, traditional, rare books and videos. But every year the post office makes it a little harder to ship these fine products, at a reasonable rate, to our many international customers. The rise in prices has been so extreme that we’ve actually been subsidizing the costs. We […]